Screw cover wrench



Sept." 7, 1948. E. H. MAT'rocKs SCREW COVER WRENCH Filed oct. 2s, 1944IZ l Patented Sept. 7, 1948 UNITED i STATE-s PATENT oFFlcE v tirrenica?,

My invention relates to a wrench or device into firm sealing condition;vthe device being especially designed for domestic use.` 1

My improved device or wrench, as Ait may be termed, is constructed tobeeasily adjusted to caps or covers of different sizes and a. firmgripping relation effected without, however, marring or destroying thethreaded condition of the cap orcover for further use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device which canbe easily adjusted and put into cover grippingv condition without needfor separate tools; a device which can rbe readily manipulated by anyone and suiiicient leverage provided for lthe unscrewing orscrewingoperations. The objects and :advantages of my invention willallbe readily comprehended from the following detailed 4description of thedrawing wherein:

Figure 1is a top plan view of my improved wrench, shown applied to ascrew cap or cover.' Figure 2 illustrates myv device in side ,elevation,applied to the screw cap or cover of a jar of which a portion of Itheupper neck` end .is shown. Figure 3 is a bottomplan viewof the device;.Figure 4 is a sectional top plan taken substantially on the line 4--4of Figure 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows. y j

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. I

In the particular exernpliiication of my invention, which is especiallydesigned for household use, the wrench comprises a hand-grasping.portion' or shellA IB, made of metal or any suitable rigid material,preferably of rectangular form and suitable length to afford the desiredleverage and also provide proper slideway for the .elements later to bedescribed. Y For purposes of illustration, the shell LII)v `is shown asa sheetfmetal blank whose longitudinal edges are bent back beneath thetop, as at `I I, II to provide a slidewayfor the coveror cap grip,- pingelements which are adjustable lengthwise of the hand-grasping shell III.f One of the cover grasping members consists of an elongated blank I2adapted to lslidablyuflt between the inturned flanges II, II and slottedlengthwisely asshown at I3, saidslot terminating short of the ends. Theouter end ofthe-blank I2 is shown bentback beneath the top to` -formfoneof the cover or cap engaging jaws I4, `which is l Z I ,t provided withan intermediate arcuate portion. I5 and with the pointed portions orteeth I6, I6. The arcuate portion I5 is adapted to receive the arcuatesurface of the cap or cover, Ywhile the teeth I6 adapted to engage theknurled perimeter of the cap or cover and prevent relative rotativemovement between the jaw or member I4 Aand the cover or cap, whichisshown at C, when the device has been placed in gripping condition.'

One longitudinal side wall of the elongated slot I3 of member I2 isprovided with the forwardly presented teeth I'I, formed a predetermineddistance from the outer end and extending toward the rear end ofthe slotI3, as shown in Figures 3 and l4. I

Inserted in the slideway formedby iianges II, II, in sliding contactwith member I2, is a jaw member lpwhoselforward end is slightly offsetdownwardlyso as to be disposed substantially .in the same horizontalplane as the rearwardly `presented toothed end I4 of the iirst mentionedjaw or gripping member I2. The offset forwardlend of member I 8, similarto the end I4 of member I2, is provided with an intermediate arcuateportion I9 to engage the perimeter of the cap or cover, and with theforwardly presented pointed portions or teeth 20, 2i) which are adaptedto engage the knurled surface of the cap or cover C.- A

VThe body of the inner jaw member I8, at its longitudinal center, isprovided with a circular hole 2I"of predetermined size and adaptedftoreceive the cam action rotatable discv22, which is provided with aneccentrically arranged slot to receive the rectangular stem- 23 of thefingergrasping member 24, so that rotation of member 24 will rotate thecam action disc 22 in thei'hole 2I of jaw member I8 and induce slightoutward and/or inward movement of member I8". Arranged in the slot I3 ofjaw member I2., and disposed on the upper face of jaw member I8, is adog or pawl 25, whose toothed end 26 is normally held in yieldingv'engagement with the teeth I'I rof jaw member I2 by a'suitable spring21 whose one end is secured to the. pawl 25 while the other end maybesecured to the cam action or eccentrically mounted disc 22; thespring`j121 being adapted to yieldingly maintain the toothedend 26 ofthe pawl in engagement with the rack or teeth I'I ofmefmber I2. l. t`The toothed end of pawl 25 is provided 'withfa hole for free passageofthe stem 23 of the finger grasping member 24, so that the latter mayberotated without imparting movement to the-pawl 25; therhole in the pawl25 being suiciently large to permit movement of t'he pawl independentlyof the stem 23.

The other end of pawl 25 is provided with an upstanding pin 28 whichextends through a slot 29 arranged in the shell or casing III; the pin28 normally being disposed at lone end of slot 29, through the action ofthe spring pressure on the pawl, namely in the position shown in Figure1.

By reason of its mounting, the inner jaw member I8 has merelyslightlimited sliding movement iri'the shell or casing; whereas the outer jawmember I2 may be slid lengthwisely of the shell or easing when the pawl25 is moved out of contact with the teeth I1 of member I-2, induced.`

With the teeth Il slopingforwardly as ,shown,

outer jaw member I2 may be easily forced in-4 wardly, as the teeth willride over the pawl; while:v

on the other hand outward movement of the memberA I2 is impossible untilthe pawl is manually moved `against the action of spring 2l by lpin 23jIn operation, the jaw end I4 of member I2 is held against vone side ofthe screw cap or cover C, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the shell orcasing ID with inner jaw member I8 is then slid forward toward the outerend -of Amember I2, until the arcuate, toothed end of vmember I8 is lncontact with the side of the screw cap or cover, diametrically oppositethe point of contact of outer jaw member I2; the free forward sliding ofthe casing and contained inner jaw being readily accomplished 'ashereinbefore stated.

In order to effect a firmer gripping relation between the jaws and thejar cap or cover, linger grasping member 24 is then ,partially rotated,causing the eccentrically mounted disc 22, (disposed in the hole 2|) toforce the outer end of member I8 `into firmer binding relation -with thecap or cover C, with the pointedportions` or teeth I6, I6 and 20, 20 of-both members in engagement with the usual knurled perimeter of the cap,so that movement of the shell or casing inproper rotative direction willcause the cap uncover-,C

to readily unserem r -It is `apparent that the device could Ialso beemployed, if desired, for firmly screwing capsor jar covers into placebymoving the handle. or shell in the opposite'or screwing direction.

AThe yend of the stem 23 may be 'swaged or riveted'to the cam disc 22,lto maintain the various elements'in assembled relation; or, as shown inFigures 3 and 5, I prefer to employ a vseparate disc o r washerl!! witha central opening to receive the end of stem 23 which is riveted inplace and as the washer is concentric with the s'tem it will notregister Vwith the hole 2`I in member I8 because the hole 2|, by reasonof cam disc 22 will always be eccentrically disposed relative to stem23`and`washer 30. p v

I have shown and described what I believe to be a simple adaptation ofmy invention, but certain structural y modifications are possible andmaybe made without, however, departing from the spirit of my inventionas defined in t'he appended claims.

"WhatIclaimis: "'1. A device of the character described c omprising/anelongated shell or casingopen'at the forward end; an elongatedlengthwise slotted plate slidably mounted in the casing to extend beyondthe end thereof and having its forward en'd bent rearwardly therebeneathto provide a jaw member, Aone wall of the slot in -the'pl'ate havinglongitudinally arranged teeth; a second jaw plate with an annular holeand slidably arranged in the forward end of the casing to extendtherebeyond with its forward end formed to effect nonslip engagementwith a screw cover and arranged in parallel supporting relation with thefirst mentioned slotted plate to permit the latter to slide thereon;rotative means operable from the casingexterior disposed through thecasing, the slot in saidi first' mentioned vplate and the annular holeof the second jaw plate and provided with a cam member arranged in saidannular hole in said second jaw plate whereby the second jaw-platefisgiven predetermined restricted sliding movement when said meansis rotated, to effect iirm binding relation with the screw cover; meansarranged v4at the lower end of said rotative means Iro whereby theoperative relation between said rotativemeans and the second jaw plateis maintained; a pawl pivotally supported on said second -plate by saidrotative means and arranged within the slot of said first mentionedplate; a spring wherebysaid pawl is normally Iheld in engagement withsaid teeth and the first mentioned plate thereby held against outwardmovement; and means secured to said pawl and `extending to the casingexterior whereby the pawl may be moved out of holding engagement withsaid teeth.

2. A screw cap wrenchcomprising an elongated casing openat the forwardend and provided With a transversely disposed arcuate slot.; anelongated plate member slidably mounted in the casing, slottedlengthwise and provided at its forward end with arearwardly facingcap-engaging arcuate surface; a second plate member, arranged inthecasing to slidably support the elongated plate, said second plate beingprovided at 'its forward end with a cap-engaging arcuate surfaceextending beyond the forward end of the casingand having a circular holeintermediate its ends; rotative linger operated means disposed throughthe casing and said circular hole; a cam member secured to said lastmentioned means and arranged in said circular hole for controlling saidsecond :plate member and having cam action relation with't'he holewhereby rotation of saidmeans will cause said plate to be shifted intofirm gripping relation with the screw cap; -pawl and rack mechanismarranged in the slot of the elongated platev tomaintain operativerelation betweenv the two plate members whereby the capengaging portionof the first mentioned plate member is held against undesired outwardmovement; and means disposed through said arcuate slot in the casingwhereby the pawl may be moved out of rack engaging position.

3. A .screw cap wrench comprising an open ended casing; an elongatedplate member slidable-in the casing and provided at its forward end withrearwardly facing cap-engaging surfaces -and With a series of forwardlypresented teeth arranged lengthwise in the plane of said plate; a secondplate member arranged in the casing to slidably support the elongatedplate member and provided -at its forward end with a cap-engagingsurface extending beyond the forward endof the casing and with a holeintermediate its ends; a rotatableicam disc seated lin said hole; afinger operated element disposed through the elongated plate andthecasing and connected with saiddis'c whereby said cam disc may be rotatedand the'second .plate shifted into firm grippingirel'ation with thescrew cap when said cam disc is Vpartially rotated; a spring controlledpivoted p'awl carried vby said second plate member and normally engagingthe teeth of said rst mentioned plate member to hold the elongated platemember against outward sliding movement; and means associated with saidpawl and extending to the casing exterior whereby the pawl may be movedout of holding engagement with said teeth and the elongated plate memberpermitted to slide outwardly.

4. A screw cap wrench of the character described comprising an elongatedopen ended cas ing provided with a transversely disposed slot; anelongated lengthwise slotted plate slidable in the casing with itsforward end disposed beyond the casing and provided with a rearwardlydisposed cap-engaging surface, one side wall of the elongated slothaving a plurality of teeth; a second plate provided with a circularhole and arranged in the casing beneath and slidingly supporting saidslotted plate, the forward end of said second plate extending beyond thecasing and provided with a cap-engaging surface; a spring controlledpawl arranged on said second plate Within the slot of the rst plate andnormally engaging said teeth to `control the outward sliding movement ofthe first plate while permitting the latter to slide inwardly; arotatable cam action disc arranged in the circular hole in said secondplate; a nger operated member extending to the casing exterior andconnected with said disc whereby the latter may be rotated and thesecond plate advanced into cap-binding position, said member alsoextending through an opening in said pawl to pivotally maintain thelatter in place; .and a pin projecting from said pawl and disposedthrough the casing slot whereby the pawl may be moved out of engagementwith said teeth and the first plate permitted to slide outwardly.

EDGAR H. MATTOCKS.

REFERENCES CITED IThe following references are of record in the i'lle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date V 832,098 Thomas Olct. 2, 19061,076,133 Manier Oct. 21, 1913 1,394,033 McLeod et al Oct. 18, 1921`1,452,951 Barker Apr. 24, 1923 1,894,556 Edlund Jan, 17, 1933 1,953,412Killman Apr. 3, 1934 1,967,960 MlcNemar July'24, 1934 2,000,962 Krag May14, 1935 2,092,699 Huntley Sept. 7, 1937 2,236,342 Marsella et al Mar.25, 1941 2,249,786 Sacerdote July 22, 1941 2,375,082 Colley May 1, 1945

